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So… eventually I may blog about my recent 21-day juice fast, but I am still processing the clarity and insights I gained and can’t seem to articulate just how powerful the experience was. The fast gave me time to really analyze not just my personal relationship with food (stress eating, reward eating, boredom eating, any-excuse-to eating, etc), but allowed me to see beyond the ritualistic nature of the act of eating and the sensory pleasures of taste, texture, fullness, etc., to appreciate life beyond “the swallow” – foreign concepts like the beauty of hunger and the inner-workings of my body on a hyper-nutrient rich diet. I will be repeating the fast in January, and perhaps by then I will understand things more and blog my way through it…

But until then, one of the most prevalent externalizations of the fast was my desire to incorporate more nutrient dense recipes into the whole family’s foodie experience in a way that Captain, with a devil-may-care-never-gain-a pound-in 12-years attitude about food, and the now 3-year old East Side Plinkas would appreciate and perhaps not even notice… could it be done?

This first amazing dinner (recipe to follow) actually received a “Woah” upon first bite from Captain, and the true test of YUM… a complete silence that fell over the table as everyone was eating. This will be a new Castle of Chaos regular.

Black Bean Burgers

1C dry black beans (or 2- 15oz cans)

1/2 small onion, diced

1/2 bulb garlic, minced (4-5 cloves)

1 beet root, diced

1/4 C quinoa

3/4 C water

1/2 can of tomato paste or 1/4C ketchup

1Tbsp chili powder

1/8-1/4 C fresh cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

coconut oil (for cooking)

Preparation: Soak beans overnight or for a minimum of 10 hours, boil until soft, drain and let cool to warm. If using canned beans, just drain and rinse. In a separate pan, boil quinoa and diced beet root together in 3/4C water (or mushroom broth is nice!) for 15 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool to warm. There should not be any extra liquid, but if there is, drain it off. Mash the beans, making sure that there are no whole bean pieces left (whole beans will cause your patties to crumble). Add the beetroot and quinoa mixture. Stir in all other ingredients – onion, garlic, cilantro, tomato paste, spices. Salt and pepper to taste. Form patties and cook over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Use a sparing amount of coconut oil to prevent sticking and form a nice crust on the surface. Makes 8-10 burgers.

Dress and assemble your burger: we like Ezekiel sprouted grain English Muffins, avocado or guacamole, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles… whatever you would put on a regular burger. I do like to make my own pickles: slice organic cucumber and soak for 2 hours in Cou-Sushi vinegar. So crisp, fresh, and yummy.

Raw “Pad Thai” Salad

Note: this salad does not actually contain Pad Thai noodles – it is a completely raw veggie preparation.

2 large zucchini (courgette)

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 yellow bell pepper, julienned

handful of bean sprouts

1/4 C green onion, chopped (chives)

1 lime, juiced

1/4 C sweet thai chili sauce

1/2 C cashews, crushed or chopped

Preparation: using a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchinis into long, ultra-thin, noodle-like strips. Add bean sprouts, breaking them into manageable pieces as you go (I break them 3 or 4 times). Add red and yellow bell peppers, and green onion. Pour the juice of 1 lime over the salad and add the sweet Thai chili sauce as you stir, holding back on the sauce so it isn’t too soupy. Toss and serve, topping with cashews as you plate. (If the cashews are added early, they will get soggy and lose flavor). This salad is delicious served immediately, but also keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge, so we just keep pulling it out for sides and snacks until it is gone. Note: after the salad starts to “settle”, it does develop a “juice”, so serve with tongs… don’t just pour it out on a plate!

Salad additions:

Have some extra veggies in the fridge? Try mixing these in for variety:

shredded carrot

shredded cabbage (white or purple)

dried chili pepper flakes

fresh jalapeno slices (if you like it spicy)

fresh minced garilc

trade peanut or macadamia for cashew

top with dried coconut (unsweetened) or pork floss (non-veg ingredient, but oh so good with it)